St. Patrick's Day is on its way. Plan on seeing green this weekend? Take your beer goggles off … and you’ll still be seeing green on any of these outdoor adventures with nice vantages! (Beer bonuses included.)
Over at the Grotto
Leprechauns, pots of gold: good things can come in small packages. Add Grotto Rock Park to the mix. This 0.3-acre rock park in the Berkeley Hills seems designed for sunset viewings with its spectacular vista of San Francisco Bay and Berkeley’s good greenery. It’s also relatively quiet because well-known Indian Rock sits a few streets below. Scale the natural stone steps carved into the west-facing boulder, then wind down crag-style and cozy into a stone nook or cave cranny. The boulder may be modest in size, but the views are goliath, stretching from the Golden Gate to the Bay Bridge. The San Francisco skyline silhouettes against the sunset, and Berkeley sits below. Rock star treatment.
BEER BONUS: Head down the hill for a pint at the Albany landmark known as The Pub (aka Schmidt’s Pub), a total charmer of an English-style locals’ bar since 1983. Sit back on the comfy front patio and enjoy on-tap ales (and board games galore).
Grotto Rock Park is located in Berkeley at 879 Santa Barbara Rd. Park open daily from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Schmidt's Pub, (510) 525-1900, is open daily and located at 1492 Solano Ave. in Albany. Both Grotto Rock Park and Schmidt’s Pub are dog-friendly!
Activity: Relax ,Dog-friendly
Region: East Bay
Private Putnam
The multiple benches you’ll find on a 2.8-mile loop hike around 216-acre Helen Putnam Regional Park in the Petaluma hills may not be pots of gold, but they do earn gold stars as scenic vantage points. From the park’s Oxford Court entrance follow the wide, paved path 0.9 mile to a pond where you’ll find a bench, and likely some fishermen poling for bluegill. Wind up the singletrack dirt Cattail Trail to Savannah Trail. Turn right and follow Savannah until you plateau at Panorama Trail, clearly named for the views you’ll get of the rolling open landscape. Continue straight beyond the upper Pomo-Panorama juncture where a quick dip past a horse pasture peppered with coast live oak loops back up to a west-facing bench. Here you can soak in the pastoral grandeur before descending the oak-shaded Pomo and Fillaree Trails back toward the road where you began. Just a few feet before the pavement, follow a footpath left up a quick 0.1 mile to a bench atop a private Putnam hill, facing out into the beautiful expanse of Petaluma Valley.
BEER BONUS: Petaluma's brewhouse Taps (54 E. Washington St.) has moved to new digs along the Petaluma River. Now you can taste one of their 30 craft, micro, and Belgian beers on tap from an outdoor patio overlooking kayakers and a nesting family of white egrets.
Helen Putnam Regional Park is open daily from dawn to dusk. Here's a map of the park. Street parking is available near the entrance on Oxford Ct. off Windsor Dr. in Petaluma. The hike is dog-friendly. No dogs allowed on the patio at Taps.
Activity: Hike ,Dog-friendly
Region: North Bay
Tam Hike & Pint
Mount Tam gets a lot of foot traffic, but its more subdued northern flank sees fewer people—and has everything you’d want for a bountiful hike: a large, glowing reservoir, green hills, a banner view of Tam’s east peak, Sierra Nevada–like silence…Ready already?! This 3.8-mile clockwise loop at Bon Tempe Lake begins on the wide-open Sunnyside Trail, slipping right alongside the shoreline, which has numerous spots for kicking back and taking in a serene scene: the sun’s rays skim across the water giving it a glisten, and the views of Tam are outstanding. The only sounds you're likely to hear are ducks and the occasional cast of a fishing line. Finish on the Shadyside Trail, hiking through madrones, Douglas fir, and plenty of ferns. Tam good time!
BEER BONUS: Locally owned—and literally green certified—Iron Springs Pub & Brewery handcrafts their brews on-site. Grab a seat at the long wooden bar, where a vintage 1941 Schwinn Cruiser hangs from the ceiling, and pair the award-winning Golden/Blonde Ale with corned beef and cabbage. Also this weekend at The Pavilion in downtown Fairfax: The 19th Annual Fairfax Beer Festival, featuring over 20 notable brewers from San Francisco to Boonville and beyond.
Bon Tempe Lake is on Mt. Tamalpais Watershed land and is the water supply for Marin homes. There is a day-use fee. Directions to the park and a map. Make your first right after the entrance toward Bon Tempe. Drive 0.5 mile and park. Walk past the wooden gate and go left on the Bon Tempe Sunnyside Trail (to the right is the Shadyside Trail). When you get to the road, cross it and follow the wooden stairs and trail to the right. Continue right at the fork after 100 feet. When you reach the bathrooms, go up and behind them. Follow trail signs to make a big loop around the lake (map). Bon Tempe Lake is dog-friendly. The patio at Iron Springs Pub & Brewery is also dog-friendly.
Activity: Hike ,Dog-friendly
Region: North Bay
Girls Have All the Fun
Could there be a more perfect destination than Sonoma Valley for a girlfriends getaway? Acres of open space, easygoing hiking and biking trails, amazing restaurants, stellar spas, and a historic square that’s home to boutique shops and more than a dozen wine tasting rooms. Gather up your gal pals: It’s Girlfriends Getaway month in Sonoma Valley! During the month of March, enjoy special events and savings on everything from lodging to luxury pampering. And then there’s the wine! Sonoma Valley is California’s oldest wine country (aka “real wine country”), including the very first winery established in California, Buena Vista, and the only “Bachelor” run winery, Envolve. Many of the tasting rooms are walk-able and bike-able from the square! Picnic on Sonoma Plaza, the beautiful center park that allows wine, pedal to world-class vineyards, or take a short hike to a stellar vista before dinner. In Sonoma Valley a girlfriends getaway comes up roses, and rosés! So come hike, bike, shop, sip, and swirl—just leave the man out of your plan!
BONUS: Enter to win a Girlfriends Getaway today!
Browse special events and savings on lodging, dining, shopping, and playing during Sonoma Valley’s Girlfriends Getaway month. Download a Hike/Bike guide including the Sonoma History & Wineries self-guided bike tour of five wineries and notable sites. Or pick up the info at either of the two visitor centers.